Moscow Mule Popsicles Recipe

 

Photos by Sarah Elliott
Photos by Sarah Elliott

I am not a big drinker, but I do like a little something when I am having dinner with friends on the weekends.  I am partial to a class of red wine or rosé, and occasionally I love a fun cocktail.  My husband and I like different kinds of drinks, but one we agree on is a Moscow Mule, especially in the summer.  Have you had one?  It’s a very refreshing drink made from vodka, spicy ginger beer (which is not beer at all, but similar to ginger ale,) and lime juice, and served in a copper mug.  So good!

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Blueberry Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

 

Photos by Sarah Elliott
Photos by Sarah Elliott

I think there might be more than a billion cookie recipes out there.  Perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but there are more cookie recipes than you and I can make in our lifetimes.  So thinking about the fact that there are zillions of cookie recipes at our fingertips, how come oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies are the ones we always turn to?  They’re at every bake sale, picnic, BBQ, bakery, and in every dream I have about eating a dozen cookies in one sitting.  When I offer to bake homemade cookies for my family, what do you think they ask for? Yep!

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Deconstructed Bagel and Lox Salad Recipe

Photos by Sarah Elliott

I accept with gratitude the privilege of growing older, so I don’t want to complain about it.  But.  Every 5 years or so, I get away with less and less with respect to what I can eat.  Sure, I could exercise more.  But I’m kind of busy and I already exercise a healthy amount.  One of those foods that is over for me is the bagel.

Bagels are nothing anyone really needs in his or her life.  They are completely devoid of nutrition and loaded with simple carbohydrates (and I mean loaded) which turn into sugar lickety split (and then the pro-inflammatory hormone insulin surges and fat gets stored.)  Even if I were to exercise like a maniac to burn off so many carbs, there’s the fact that I don’t feel great after eating a bagel.

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Fluffy Whole Grain Lemon Poppy Seed Ricotta Pancakes Recipe

Fluffy Whole Grain Lemon Poppy Seed Ricotta Pancakes|Pamela Salzman

Pancakes are made once or twice a week in my house.  My whole family is crazy for them and I am have even taught my kids how to cook their own.  Many a morning I have to leave early for work, so I’ll make pancake batter the night before and pull it out in the morning before I go.  The kids know how to grease the griddle with coconut oil, sprinkle the pancakes with blueberries and flip when ready.

Fluffy Whole Grain Lemon Poppy Seed Ricotta Pancakes|Pamela Salzman

These ricotta pancakes came about when I had extra ricotta after a pizza night.  Being totally honest, I am not a huge fan of pasteurized cow dairy and I do try and limit it with my family.  Dairy is a bit inflammatory, somewhat hard to digest and full of hormones.  So we eat it sparingly.  But I have to admit, ricotta pancakes are delicious.  They’re everything I want a pancake to be — light, fluffy, but still hearty.  These are much higher in protein than a “normal” pancake and I love getting protein into the kids in the morning!  Add some lemon zest and poppy seeds for fun and smother them in fresh blueberry sauce and I am in heaven.

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Spiced Halibut and Lime Skewers Recipe

Photo by Sarah Elliott

I don’t know about you, but to me the perfect recipe is one that is tasty, easy, healthful, and appeals to everyone in my family.  That is a tall order for sure.  Most people that I talk to in my classes struggle with having a wide range of great entree recipes and that’s where I have a hard time, too.  I only like seafood, but my younger daughter doesn’t.  My husband likes everything well done, but I don’t.  My son likes everything plain and simple, but the rest of us like strong flavors.  You know how it goes.

Spiced Halibut Skewers|Pamela Salzman

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Cornmeal Crisp Recipe (no refined sugar added)

Photo by Sarah Elliott
Photo by Sarah Elliott

A crisp is one of my go-to desserts whenever I have friends over.  I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t thoroughly enjoy a bowl of drippy warm fruit with a sweet and buttery crunchy topping.  I have peach-blueberry and apricot-cherry on this site, but I mix and match fruit all the time.  I love that crisps are mostly fruit and I love using whatever fruit is in season.  They are super easy to make and can be prepped ahead in many ways.

rhubarb

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Chopped grilled vegetable salad recipe

Photo by Sarah Elliott
Photo by Sarah Elliott

Sometimes, a little freshening up is in order.  I put this chopped grilled vegetable salad on my weekly dinner planner and when I pulled the image for it, I cringed a little.  The photo did not do it justice at all.  This salad is one of my absolute favorites and one that I posted almost 5 years ago.  In all fairness to me, I didn’t even know how to use a camera when I started this blog, and although I am still no photography expert, I think my images have improved since 2011.  So I thought I would pull this post from the archives and give it a facelift, especially on the eve of Memorial Day weekend when you might be inclined to make a fantastic, crowd-pleasing salad such as this one.

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Zesty Potato Skewers Recipe

Photo by Sarah Elliott
Photos by Sarah Elliott

I am obsessing over these zingy little skewers!  I have been teaching them all month in my classes and I always look forward to the end of every lesson when I can snag a stick of hot potatoes.  Someone asked me once, “what is it about food on a stick that people love?”  I think they’re just fun and easy and skewers feel like a party is happening.  The potato party is made by the tasty Dijon-based marinade that coats each little spud.  Potatoes on their own can be a tad bland, but add Dijon, garlic, crushed red pepper and lemon juice and you’ve tons of flavor.  I know you’re going to love these.

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